Emergency Department recycling program keeps telemetry leads out of the landfill

The word recycling tends to bring up mental images of bottles and cans, but at an organization like Monument Health, we have an opportunity to do even more.

The Emergency Department uses thousands of telemetry leads each year—they’re used to connect patients to monitoring equipment, such as any time they monitor a patient’s heart rate, for example. The number of used leads adds up quickly. In May 2019, the Emergency Department Governance Council at Rapid City Hospital, collaborating with Stryker Sustainability Solutions, implemented a telemetry lead recycling program.

After Stryker collects the leads, they are cleaned, refurbished, sanitized and made available for use. Melody Schram, ED RN, takes a lot of pride in the program. “Because we can buy back recycled leads, we absolutely save money, but you’re also keeping them out of the landfill,” she said.

Jace Brock with the Supply Chain Department further explained the value of the program. “There are a lot of different styles of leads, but by implementing this program and then buying the recycled leads, we save a minimum of $1 per lead.” Considering Monument Health recycled 26,395 leads from May 2019 to May 2020, this recycling program creates significant savings for Monument Health.

Both Jace and Melody gave credit to Stryker Sustainability Solutions for streamlining the process for the ED. While Jace pointed to Melody’s enthusiasm for the project as a driving force behind its success, she brushed aside the praise. “It succeeded because of everyone who worked on it,” she said. “From the council, to everyone in the department, it was a team effort.”